Business Ethics

Ethical Leadership in a Business Context - Case Studies

Abstract

Are leaders morally special? Is there something ethically distinctive about leaders? May they do anything they choose in order to achieve their goals? Leadership ethics as described in this article conforms to moral theory within the general context of leadership, but also within the context of business ethics, seeing as this particular aspect of ethical leadership is the greatest challenge facing us today. Although ethics, both in theory and in practice, has countless times been part of the formula for success, today's leaders, be they good or bad, continue to break social rules in order to achieve their goals. The question is only to what degree, since it is this that renders them good or bad. This article explains the concept of ethical leadership by examining the relationship between ethics and leadership, primarily through the application of ethical leadership in a business context, since the issue is topical. The concluding section presents a survey of good and bad leadership in the business world.